After Ohio State opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the Big Ten championship game, and then grabbed the lead 7 minutes later, the nation's No. 1-ranked defense appeared to be on the ropes.

So Dantonio told defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi to leave the coaches box and get to the sideline. This isn't out of the norm for Narduzzi, but the message once he arrived packed a little extra juice.

"Every other word would probably have to be bleeped out," admitted defensive end Tyler Hoover. "His messages are strong. He's such an amazing guy."

The Spartans heard Narduzzi loud and clear, allowing just 47 total yards on Ohio State's final four drives, including just 25 in the entire fourth quarter.

The Buckeyes rushed for 137 yards in the third and quarterback Braxton Miller had two touchdown runs, but they managed just one first down in the fourth.

"Sometimes (Dantonio) says come down to clean it up. This was kind of 'there isn't a whole lot of emotion here,'" Narduzzi said. "We had to get that kicked back our way.

"I told them with 24 points on the board, 'If they don't score again, we win the game.' And that's what happened."

Michigan State actually trailed 24-17 with 5:36 left in the third quarter. But Connor Cook led touchdown drives of 90 and 61 yards in the fourth, sealing the win and ending Ohio State's 24-game winning streak.

"The resilience our kids have," Narduzzi said. "Our kids have been resilient all year. They just stuck with the plan, and the plan worked."